Chatham News

When Yoshika Hida of Hiratsuka, Japan, learned that she would spend her AFS year abroad in Chatham, she thought she already knew something of Cape Cod.
Tokyo Disney Resort has an old Cape Cod-themed area featuring a red and white striped lighthouse, docks, boats, a white church and lots of rocks.
And, as it turns out, “it was not right,” Yoshika says. Chatham does not look like Tokyo Disney’s version of “ol...

How do you go about turning a very old, historically significant building into a modern museum, welcoming to students and tourists alike? If you are Princess Elettra Marconi, daughter of the wireless pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, and the building in question is the 16th century Palazzo Marconi in Bologna, Italy, a visit to Chatham might help you find some answers. Over the past 17 years, public and private support h...

CHATHAM – The number of students who receive free or reduced-cost meals at Chatham Elementary School has grown to the point where the school now qualifies for a federal program that makes free lunch and breakfast available to all students.
Monomoy Regional School District officials are preparing to apply to the program and anticipate its implementation in the fall.
As of April, 46.18 percent of students at ...

CHATHAM – The former Cumberland Farms store at 859 Main St. may have a new life as an office building.
Next Tuesday, June 12, the planning board will hear a proposal to change the use of the property from retail to professional offices. SV Design, which currently has offices at 403 Main St., is proposing to move its architectural and design firm to the former convenience store/gas station.
“We're committed ...

CHATHAM — Federal officials are issuing a familiar warning to boaters and beach goers. Seal pups are on the shore, and getting too close is dangerous – and illegal.
Local police departments get scores of calls from well-intended citizens each spring about young harbor seals on the beach. The pups are often left alone on the shore for as long as 24 hours while the mother feeds just offshore. That behavior is ...

CHATHAM — On a weekend filled with the sounds of sizzling hamburgers and joyful family gatherings, a group of citizens took time to hear the stories of fallen veterans, the report of a rifle salute, and the mournful strains of Taps.
More than 150 people attended Chatham’s Memorial Day observance at the community center Monday. SPC Ted Miller, U.S. Army, Ret., led the commemoration, and provided a “virtual to...

CHATHAM – It was a day of remembering and celebrating as members of local fishing families and those who support them gathered at the Chatham Fish Pier for the annual Blessing of the Fleet.
With the warm sun shining down, the Rev. Brian McGurk of St. Christopher's Church and Karen Murdoch of Women of Fishing Families (WOFF) offered prayers and thoughtful sentiments at the soulful gathering, hel...

CHATHAM – With the number of Preservation Awards steadily declining the past few years, the coalition that oversees the annual event voted last week not to hold an awards ceremony this year. Beginning next year, the awards will be given out every other year.
The awards honor projects that use sensitivity in renovating, restoring and preserving historic buildings. They are overseen by members of the town's hist...

CHATHAM — It’s been a wet winter and spring, with Chatham receiving almost three and a half inches more precipitation than average since the start of the year. Still, starting on June 15, the town will once again impose voluntary restrictions on water use, even as it considers tightening rules on residential irrigation systems.
Town officials say the need for conservation isn’t about a lack of rainfall, but ...

CHATHAM — On a recent morning, Sgt. Bill Massey stood outside Chatham Elementary School, greeting children as they stepped off the bus. Most gave him friendly fist-bumps, and one young girl flung her arms around him.
Not a bad way to start the work day.
Sgt. Massey is already a familiar face for students at Chatham Elementary and Monomoy Regional Middle School, but soon they’ll be seeing him just about ev...

CHATHAM – When Mac and Alex Hay opened their seafood company in Wellfleet in 1995, Mac drove to Chatham every day to buy freshly landed fish from Chatham Fish and Lobster. As it expanded to include several restaurants and seafood markets on the Outer Cape, Mac's Seafood continued to source much of its product from the Chatham company.
Now, 23 years later, the Wellfleet Harbor Seafood Company, which owns the Ma...

CHATHAM – The Women of Fishing Families (WOFF) will sponsor the annual Blessing of the Fleet at the fish pier on Saturday, May 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Rev. Brian McGurk of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church and Amy Middleton of the First Congregational Church will lead the ceremony with a blessing for fishermen, their crews and their boats for a safe fishing season. There will be performances by bagpiper Sa...